These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Legislation that would compel insurers to pay for expensive but effective treatments for children with autism won overwhelming passage Tuesday in the state Senate despite opposition from mighty insurance and business lobbies.

On a 27-13 vote, Sen. Janet Howell's bill advances to the House, where a companion measure died on a tie vote in a subcommittee two weeks earlier.

The bill would mandate coverage by certain employee health plans for applied behavior analysis, the treatment that psychiatric and medical officials say is the most effective and promising for children with autism. Insurers say ABA is an educational service, not a medical one that should be covered.

Howell's bill restricts coverage to children from age 2 years through 6, and limits annual insurance outlays for ABA to $35,000. Because of the record $4 billion gap facing the next state budget, it exempts state employees from required coverage until 2015.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Seems like Mike Huckabee has been eating a whole bunch of sour grapes:

Huckabee said the rise of the tea party movement had “taken all of the oxygen out of the room,” rendering the venerable conference far less relevant than it had been in previous years.

“Where CPAC was historically the event, the tea parties are having their own events all over the country and a lot more truly grassroots people are getting involved because of the tea parties,” said the former governor.

And, goaded by Fox Host Geraldo Rivera, Huckabee went even further.

“Because of the way that it solicits sponsors, it’s almost becomes a pay-for-play,” he said. “It’s kind of like, who will pay money to be able to be a sponsor and get time in the program. That’s one of the things that has hurt its credibility in the last couple of years.”

Huckabee's sour grapes aside, I truly sense a concerted effort from without (on both sides) to destroy the Tea Party, CPAC and other related movements because it is not friendly to the status quo. The narrative is changing. Having been put off enough times by the line, "Yeah, we didn't advance the agenda yet, but give us power next year and we'll deliver;" and having been stood up at the dance too many times, movement conservatives are now looking beyond the power structure of the Republican party to field and support their candidates of choice.

Simply put, many 'establishment' republicans, much like their democrat counterparts, are first and foremost political animals, who look at grass-roots, non-establishment efforts (especially successful ones) as threats to their respective monopolies in the arena of ideas, and to the idea that they and they alone are the font from which all political power and graces flow. Mike Huckabee's comments are illustrative of how they will bite back, sometimes viciously, in their efforts to maintain their turf.

I agree that the Republican party has the infrastructure from which we can launch candidates who will promote a conservative agenda; I also understand the futility of a third party effort, especially for national office. The 'establishment' wing, however, must now recognize that they again, as I stated, are no longer the sole font from which all political power and graces flow.

As Norm Coleman is always fond of saying, a leader without any followers is just a guy taking a walk.

Gone are the days (at least for now, but hopefully into the foreseeable future) when a select few can be the self-anointed 'kingmakers.' Footsoldiers will no longer toe the line for those who don't give a whit for advancing the conservative cause.

Movement conservatives are tired of being on the backburner, and they will no longer stand by idly while progressive interests are placed ahead of theirs 'just to get along.'

I think the establishment wing of the Republican party recognize this and are quaking in their boots.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Scientists have discovered that the female sex hormone progesterone grows in walnut trees, shaking up what's known about the different between plants and animals.

Until now, scientists thought that only animals could make progesterone. A steroid hormone secreted by the ovaries, progesterone prepares the uterus for pregnancy and maintains pregnancy. A synthetic version, progestin, is used in birth control pills and other medications.

"The significance of the unequivocal identification of progesterone cannot be overstated," write Guido F. Pauli and colleagues in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Natural Products.

"While the biological role of progesterone has been extensively studied in mammals, the reason for its presence in plants is less apparent," explains the article. Pauli speculates that it may support biological activities, such as the regulation of seedling growth, or it may simply be an evolutionary artifact -- a genetic leftover that's no longer doing anything for the plant.

Regardless, it's an eye-opening discovery, and may shape future studies: "When comparing plants and animals," writes Pauli, "it is more helpful to emphasize the similarities rather than the differences."

Indeed, this puts to rest the age-old question, "If a man is out in the forest, says something, and nobody is around to hear him, is he still wrong?"

Given that some trees possess female characteristics, the answer must be a resounding, "Yes!"

Friday, February 05, 2010

State Rep. John Murtha (D) wins a special congressional election in Pennsylvania's 12th District to fill the seat of the late GOP Rep. John Saylor.

Murtha defeats Republican Harry Fox by just 122 votes. Many observers wondered if this race would give hints about what would happen in November. President Nixon and the GOP are on the defensive over the Watergate scandal, and some read this as a sign that this could be a big Democratic year. But Murtha's close win, in a district that has a narrow Democratic advantage in registration, left both sides with a murky message.

Meanwhile, 36 years later, Murtha still holds the seat.

Yes, and 36 years later, we have a man who narrowly escaped indictment in ABSCAM, engaged in years and years of palm greasing and backroom deals, receiving thousands upon thousands in campaign contributions while doling out millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars in quid-pro-quo earmarks; who is currently under scrutiny for ethics violations and/or outright illegalities* with respect to the PMA and Kuchera Industries scandals, who has placed his name on airports, hospitals and sundry other projects like some Egyptian pharoah, who nearly singlehandedly sabotaged our troops' efforts in Iraq, and who has unapologetically slandered and wrongly besmirched the names and honor of Marines in Haditha in 2005, whose only 'crime' was correctly following rules of engagement while under enemy attack.

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Even before Republican Scott Brown's stunning election to the Senate in traditionally Democratic Massachusetts last month, it was proving hard to corral moderate Democrats to support a bill capping greenhouse gas emissions. Now they're afraid to back anything that could be perceived as harmful to the economy. "Realistically, the cap-and-trade bills in the House and the Senate are going nowhere," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told the New York Times. That's a distressing comment coming from one of the three senators supposedly crafting a compromise climate bill that's capable of achieving a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

President Obama has backed down too. On Tuesday, he signaled that cap-and-trade could go the way of healthcare reform's "public option," saying it could be removed from the climate bill. That would eliminate the market mechanism for pricing greenhouse gas pollution -- and without setting such a carbon price, other measures under consideration, such as a national renewable energy standard, won't go far enough to significantly slow global warming.

And whatever will the Billy Goats Gruff do about the troll that remains under the bridge?

The gig is up. The party is over. Nobody buys your claptrap anymore.

Go back to the drawing board, warmers--time to come up with another scam.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

"...(that) they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

While the ad was no doubt a clever marketing ploy by the front office at McDonald's, the ad also showcases so much of what is wrong in our society when it comes to dealing with the issue of race.

Balkanization and 'multiculturalism' will not cure racism. Rather, it is my contention that by focusing on cultural differences, the 'multiculturalism' movement did more to foster balkanization, racism, misunderstanding and mistrust between races than white supremacist groups were ever able to accomplish.

Racism and division will not end until people stop focusing on the amount of melanin in one's skin, and instead focus on our common humanity, and common goals as fellow citizens of these United States.

Only by focusing on shared, common values as human beings will we be able to move forward; and then and only then will we be able to achieve Dr. Martin Luther King's dream of a color-blind society.

Airmen from the Kentucky National Guard's 123rd Contingency Response Group help to offload wounded Haitian refugees and medics from Puerto Rico National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters at the air hub Jan. 25, 2010, in Barahona, Dominican Republic.

Photo Courtesy U.S Air Force Taken By Tech. Sgt. Dennis Flora

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

But I was heartened by Emmer campaign manager, David Fitzsimmons who had this to say in an email:

We are very pleased with the results - they matched our expectations and show we clearly have the momentum heading into the next phase of the campaign. Here are some notes on the straw poll results that you can share with other Emmer supporters:

Tom Emmer has the momentum, both in endorsements and now in the balloting. We closed the gap from 14 points to 10 points and we're the only campaign moving in a positive direction.

Although we lost the non-binding straw poll, we did win in key delegate-rich areas. Remember, the next round is winner-take-all as we elect delegates to the state convention.

In fact, Emmer won four of the eight Congressional Districts, but more importantly, he won the districts with the most delegate strength. If you add the delegate strength from districts won by Emmer (2, 3, 5, and 6) you get 1080 delegates. That is more than Seifert's total of 920 delegates from districts 1, 4, 7 and 8.

Our strong second place finish has made this a two person race - no one else has a legitimate shot at endorsement from this point forward.

Seifert's edge was in Greater Minnesota where name recognition is key, and his 3 years as a minority spokesman was a huge advantage. Tom's overwhelming success came in the metro area where it was possible to meet and speak with folks. We must now ensure that our outstate friends have an opportunity to get to know Tom on a personal level.

In order to win the general election, the Republican candidate needs to connect with voters in the swing districts in the suburbs. The numbers don't lie - Tom is clearly stronger here and there is no reason to believe he won't also do well in traditional Republican strongholds like the 7th Congressional District.

The numbers behind the numbers look really positive for the Emmer campaign, but it's going to take a lot of hard work to win this endorsement. Thanks you very much for the support you've shown so far and please keep it up as we head into the next phase of this election.

Don't get me wrong--I won't shed any tears if Seifert eventually gets the nod. But it seems to me that Tom has the rare gift to be able to connect with voters on a gut level. Spend just five minutes with Mr. Emmer, and you feel that he's not some lofty politician, he's one of us, a guy who can connect with you on a personal level, not just in an ideological sense.

Not that Marty Seifert is a slouch, but for the reasons outlined above, I think Tom Emmer is an even more electable candidate, and I believe he will be more effective in driving the grass roots GOP agenda to fruition.